WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A federal appeals court has upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests its stake in the popular video-sharing app.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel, ruled in favor of the Justice Department, rejecting TikTok and ByteDance's request for relief. The court determined that the law is constitutional, paving the way for TikTok to potentially be banned in the coming months.
'We conclude the portions of the Act the petitioners have standing to challenge, that is the provisions concerning TikTok and its related entities, survive constitutional scrutiny,' Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the majority opinion. 'We therefore deny the petitions.'
The judges concluded that the law neither 'contravenes the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States' nor 'violates the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the laws.'
In April, President Joe Biden signed a bill requiring TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or face a ban in the United States. The legislation came after years of concerns on Capitol Hill about the potential national security risks posed by ByteDance.
Lawmakers have expressed fears that ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government for surveillance purposes or that the government could manipulate TikTok's algorithm to disseminate propaganda.
In May, TikTok filed a lawsuit to block the law, arguing that it infringes on the free speech rights of its more than 170 million American users and unfairly targets the platform.
President-elect Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term in office, but reversed his position during the presidential campaign and vowed to 'save' the app. He takes office on January 20.
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